CH 68

Chapter 68: The Grave (4)

Three hundred years ago, in Helmuth. Near the Demon King of Carnage’s castle.

It had originally been a plain, but the entire area had been overturned due to the battle with the Demon King of Carnage. After the battle was over, the heroes searched the surroundings to see if there were any remaining forces that had fled the Demon King’s castle or were trying to stay hidden in the vicinity.

Somewhere in all that overturned ground, they found a path leading underground. Under the suspicion that they might fight Carnage’s minions hiding down there, they followed the path downwards, but they didn’t find any demonfolk, demonic beasts, or monsters down there.

It was unknown for how long it had been around, but they found a ruin deep underground. Upon seeing the ancient words carved into the walls, Sienna speculated that it might be a relic of the mythological period.

Sienna and Anise were able to translate most ancient scripts, but even for erudites like them, it was impossible to translate the ancient language that they found engraved on the walls of the ruin. Eventually, since they weren’t able to uncover the true identity of these ruins, they had no choice but to explore deeper into the ruins.

And in the deepest level of these ruins, they found a hidden room. There was no opening to the outside and no source of light, yet in the center of the room, they saw a full moon shining with a pale light.

‘I call dibs on that one.’

As soon as he saw the sword that had been embedded beneath the moon, Hamel immediately took the lead in claiming it. His companions didn't have any complaints. In their battle with the Demon King of Carnage, most of Hamel’s weapons had been shattered and broken, leaving him with only a single intact sword.

As for the Annihilation Hammer Jigolath, the weapon wielded by the Demon King of Carnage, both Hamel and Molon had coveted it, but neither of them were able to become the Annihilation Hammer’s new master. It was close to impossible for a human to properly wield a Demon King’s weapon, so the only one who could wield it without taking any damage was Vermouth.

Molon preferred heavy and large axes over swords. Vermouth already possessed various weapons such as Wynnyd, the Holy Sword, and Gedon’s Shield; moreover, he had just gotten his hands on the Annihilation Hammer as well. Thus, he didn’t put up a fight when Hamel claimed the sword that they found in these ruins.

However, Hamel wasn’t able to get his hand on the sword.

The moment that he got close to the sword bathed in moonlight, he fell to his knees coughing out blood. The mysterious moonlight also dissipated Hamel’s mana and left him feeling disorientated.

In the end, that sword was also taken by Vermouth. Vermouth was the only one in the party who could safely approach it from beneath the moonlight and draw the sword. No one knew the reasons for this. But in fact, this wasn’t anything to be surprised about. All his comrades knew just how special Vermouth was.

—Motherfucker, why do you always end up with everything?

—I tried to yield it to you.

—And who asked you to do that?

—Would you like me to hand it to you now?

—I won’t take it, you crazy fool. Are you trying to piss me off?

They gave the sword that they had found in the ruins the name of the Moonlight Sword.

Although the name was simple and straightforward, it was also appropriate. The sword had been found embedded in the ground beneath a full moon. The gray blade that could be seen whenever it was pulled out of its scabbard appeared to be the same shade as moonlight and whenever the sword was swung, the luminous phenomenon it produced looked like it was scattering rays of moonlight.

Yet, despite its appearance, that thing wasn’t just a simple sword. It wasn’t just Hamel who had felt that way, all of his companions shared this sentiment. Fundamentally, literally any weapon was a tool meant to kill and destroy; however, among all the weapons in the world, the Moonlight Sword most perfectly captured the essence of this entity called ‘weapon’.

The Moonlight Sword was pure ruination in the shape of a sword.

The Demon Spear Luentos was the prided weapon of the Demon King of Cruelty, and its terror was overwhelming. In spite of that, it couldn’t even pierce through the light of the Moonlight Sword.

After Vermouth got his hands on the Moonlight Sword, the Holy Sword would no longer make an appearance on the battlefield. This was only natural. Rather than the beautiful Holy Sword that emitted a brilliant light, the simple-looking Moonlight Sword was much, much stronger.

Currently, Eugene was blankly staring up at a moon.

In the ruins where they had first discovered the sword, the moon they had seen had been a full one. However, the one in front of him now was only a crescent moon.

As Eugene was about to pull out his fragment of the Moonlight Sword, he burst into laughter, “I forgot to pick that thing up.”

After slamming into the Death Knight’s chest, the fragment had fallen to the floor, and Eugene hadn’t gotten a chance to pick it up. He had wanted to take the fragment out to see if it would show any reaction, but it looked like he would have to leave that for later.

“...Vermouth,” Eugene muttered as he shook his head from side to side. “Why did you leave something like this in my grave?”

Unlike when he had first seen it three hundred years ago, the Moonlight Sword wasn’t embedded into the ground, but was instead floating in the air. Eugene stared at the Moonlight Sword as it hovered in front of him.

The fragment of the Moonlight Sword had been discovered in the Khazad Hills. As such, Eugene had thought that Vermouth had personally shattered the sword and sealed it away because it was too dangerous.

But now, what was the Moonlight Sword doing here? What reason could there be to seal the Moonlight Sword away in Hamel’s grave of all places?

“Was it out of sympathy for me?”

Although Hamel had wanted to possess the Moonlight Sword, he hadn’t been able to obtain it. He had never held any regrets because of this, but… Eugene felt that this was a very Vermouth-like display of sympathy. Rather than writing a tear-filled letter or bursting out with some emotional words, Vermouth had been the kind of guy to just suddenly offer what his colleagues had desired, just like this.

Eugene looked at the space below the Moonlight Sword. He could see a white coffin laying there. That was probably where his corpse had been placed.

“What’s the use of giving it to me after I’ve died?”

Eugne laughed and shook his head as he said this, though he wouldn’t have even been able to use it while he was alive.

But this wasn’t the time to get all emotional.

Apart from the Moonlight Sword, there was nothing else in this room. It didn’t have any statues or memorial stones like the room outside. The only entrance was the door that they had used to enter. That was also the only way out. If they wanted to leave this room, they would have no choice but to face that damned, insane Death Knight once more.

The Death Knight wasn’t the only thing that Eugene needed to be concerned about. The Black Wizard, Amelia Merwin, had also set foot in this grave. For a Death Knight to have been found here, it must have been Amelia Merwin who had created it. And Eugene had no idea when that bitch of a black wizard might return.

As such, he needed to finish things here as soon as possible, and then escape from here.

The issue was that things were getting more complicated than he had expected. With a frown on his face, Eugene approached the Moonlight Sword. His body was still covered in wounds, and his heart was still racing from the battle’s adrenaline.

He didn’t know why the Moonlight Sword was here, or what Vermouth’s intentions were for leaving the Moonlight Sword here, but the fact that it was here… meant that Vermouth had left this sword as an offering to Hamel.

“If that’s the case, that just means it’s alright for me to take it,” saying this with a grin, Eugene stretched his hand out towards the moonlight.

Yet feelings of worry outweighed Eugene’s giddiness and hope. In his previous life as Hamel, it had been impossible for him to even hold the Moonlight Sword in his hand. Although he had been reincarnated as a descendant of Vermouth, would he really be able to wield the Moonlight Sword because of that?

“I’ll just have to try and hold it,” Eugene muttered as he reached his hand out. “After all, that bastard did dedicate this sword to me.”

The moment his hand touched the moonlight, all the hairs on his body stood up in shock. Even though it should just be rays of light, Eugene’s breath was starting to race. The mana inside his body was fluctuating and it felt like he would soon run out of mana just by leaving his hand under there. Eugene gritted his teeth and started operating the White Flame Formula in order to wrench back control over his mana.

With this, Eugene pushed his body forward. Yet it was easier to handle than he’d been expecting. Was he recalling the experience incorrectly? Or was this because he was Vermouth’s descendant? Could it be due to the fact he had learnt the same White Flame Formula as Vermouth?

No.

‘It’s been weakened.’

Eugene was sure of this. The Moonlight Sword in front of him was incomparably weaker than the one that he had first seen in those ruins. Just as he had thought, the Moonlight Sword must definitely have been broken into pieces.

His hand touched the hilt.

Crackle!

A gray electric current wrapped around Eugene’s body. The mana that he had been keeping a tight grip on fluctuated wildly, but then calmly subsided. Taking a deep breath, Eugene sat down right where he was.

He was holding it. The sword that Hamel hadn’t been able to even touch… Eugene was now definitely able to hold it in his hands. Eugene calmed his rough breathing and glanced down at the Moonlight Sword.

From the outside, it just looked like an ordinary sword. Setting aside the overly glamorous Holy Sword, even Wynnyd had some fancy decorations on its pommel and guard, but the Moonlight Sword didn’t have any of that. The same went for its scabbard as well—it didn’t have any artwork or jewels. But such decorations weren’t of any importance to a sword.

Eugene took a gulp and grabbed the scabbard.

“...It’s not there.”

Although he’d been half-expecting this as he pulled on the hilt with a shaking heart, the gray blade was nowhere to be seen. The Moonlight Sword had appeared to be intact from a distance, but in fact, only the ricasso was left of the whole blade, allowing the hilt and guard to be attached to the scabbard. [1]

‘As I thought. They must have shattered it.’

The moment this thought passed through his head, the crescent moon floating in the air began to dissipate. The moonlight that had been illuminating his surroundings gathered to the Moonlight Sword. Eugene watched what was happening to the Moonlight Sword with wide eyes. As the light converged, it took the shape of a straight blade.

“...Hahaha,” Eugene burst into laughter as he looked down at the gleaming sword.

This blade was made of light, not metal, so it was different from the Moonlight Sword that Eugene was familiar with. Nevertheless, this light was still unmistakably moonlight.

Eugene slowly raised the sword, infusing his mana into it at the same time.

Although the Moonlight Sword could collapse all forms of magic and mana, Eugene’s mana wasn’t dissipated. Instead, the sword greedily swallowed up the mana, as if it had been waiting for this moment.

Fwoosh.

The moonlight flickered like the flame of a candle. This was caused by the flames from the White Flame Formula resonating with the Moonlight Sword and becoming one.

Eugene shrugged and smiled, “It really is a bullshit sword.”

The words he spat didn’t show any signs that he was overwhelmed with happiness.

Eugene understood exactly what kind of weapon the Moonlight Sword had become. He knew that this sword made from light would be able to resonate with the White Flame Formula, but it proved to also be a huge drain on Eugene’s mana. Of course it might have a lot of power that made up for this drawback, but it was still a difficult weapon to handle for Eugene, who had yet to become ‘complete’.

“Still, it’s amazing,” Eugene complimented it.

Even though it had been shattered into pieces, it still had this much strength. It might eat up his mana like crazy, but as long as he used it properly, it would be able to show overwhelming superiority during battles that used mana.

‘If I had known that this would happen, I would have chosen the Devouring Sword.’

In the treasure vault of the Lionheart clan was stored the Devouring Sword Azphel, one of the weapons that Vermouth had used. The sword was able to slice apart spells and devour the mana. However, while its ability to slice apart spells was indeed similar to the Moonlight Sword, in terms of sheer power, the latter was far superior.

If the two swords were used together, their drawbacks would be compensated by each other. The mana drained by the Moonlight Sword would be supplemented by Azphel’s absorption, and Azphel’s lack of power would be supplemented by the Moonlight Sword.

‘Since there’s no way I could have known that I would actually be able to get my hands on the Moonlight Sword, it can’t be helped.’

In any case, he already had Wynnyd, which was unsurpassed in terms of convenience. If he was eventually able to successfully summon Tempest, Eugene would be able to create a storm even without having to swing his sword.

“...If I do my best to act cute and beg for it, maybe they’ll give me Azphel as well?” Eugene muttered to himself.

If it was Gilead, then this idea could probably work for real. Clicking his tongue, Eugene slid the Moonlight Sword back into its scabbard. Of course, it was just an idle thought. There was no way that Eugene would ever act cute in front of Gilead.

“But now, what?” Eugene fell into deep thought as he rubbed his chin.

Should he just rest here and drag out the time for a bit? No, never mind. It would be a pain in the ass if Amelia were to arrive while he was doing that.

‘I might still have the personal letter from Balzac, but….’

There was no way that Eugene could have expected that he might encounter her in a place other than Amelia’s own territory. Eugene might have accepted the letter, but he really didn’t want to rely on Balzac’s favor…. Well, in the worst case scenario, he would have no choice but to use it.

‘Though I’m not sure if she truly will back down just by seeing one letter.’

Eugene couldn’t put all his hopes into this letter. If at all possible, he wanted to handle this situation himself.

He glanced at Laman, who was still collapsed on the ground. For now, he would just leave this guy here while he dealt with the Death Knight outside.

‘As for Ignition… there’s no need to use it,’ Eugene judged.

This was also a chance to test the power of the Moonlight Sword.

Before that, Eugene opened up the white coffin. As he had thought, there wasn’t any corpse lying within.

However, taking a closer look, Eugene was struck dumb with surprise, “...?!”

The corpse was indeed missing, but there were other things inside the coffin. On the underside of the coffin’s lid, an inscription had been written.

Some day, I will meet you again in the world that you’ve been longing for.

And beneath these words written by Sienna, something else had fallen.

* * *

“Grrr…!” while growling like a beast, the Death Knight glared at the door.

Not much time had passed since the intruders had gone through that door. In this short time, the Death Knight had already swung its claws at the door hundreds of times.

However, it still hadn’t been able to break down the door. It had attempted to break through the door hundreds of times before, but let alone breaking, the door had never even shown any signs of damage.

‘How did they enter?’ the Death Knight questioned once more.

It just couldn’t understand this. The Death Knight grabbed its head and groaned.

This was the grave of the Stupid Hamel.

The Death Knight was Stupid Hamel.

That’s just how it had to be. Since this body belonged to Hamel, the soul inside this body also had to be Hamel’s. This was the strong suggestion[2] that had been placed on the Death Knight when it was created. The master of the Death Knight had been able to synchronize the lycanthrope’s soul with Hamel’s body through this powerful suggestion.

It was a necessary modification. Hamel’s soul may not have remained inside it, but the corpse still carried all the traces of his life experiences. If the newly-inserted replacement soul was able to perfectly tap into these traces and respond accordingly, then the Death Knight would be able to subconsciously draw from Hamel’s experiences.

The skills that were elicited through such a method might not be comparable to that of the real Hamel, but the Death Knight’s master was still greatly interested in this prospect. Wasn’t that only natural? The Stupid Hamel was a companion of the Great Vermouth, and he was the only one among all these companions, Vermouth included, who had left an intact ‘corpse’.

This corpse was one of the best materials for making a Death Knight. It was different from a soul, which was basically a consumable item.

“I am… I am Hamel,” the Death Knight mumbled as it tore at its hair.

The lycanthrope knew that there had been several souls placed within this body before it, but it didn’t know which version of Hamel it was. It didn’t want to know either. If it became aware of this, its already unstable sense of self would only grow even more shaky.

‘Disposal,’ the Death Knight’s eyes shook and eyelids fluttered at this thought.

Its helmet had been split open and its breastplate was shattered. The Death Knight’s master had not permitted these to be broken, so they would definitely be enraged. And if that happened? The only thing waiting for it was disposal. Souls that were judged to be useless were discarded, and then other souls would be used as a component for the Death Knight instead.

If the Death Knight wanted to avoid that, then it needed to prove that it wasn’t useless junk that should be discarded. He needed to kill the intruders and offer them—

No, it couldn’t kill them. It needed to capture them. Since they were able to easily open the door that its master had been unsuccessfully trying to open, the Death Knight needed to offer them to its master alive.

‘Need to do it quickly. Before the master returns….’

Had its earnest wish been answered? The door started shaking.

The Death Knight shook its body and readied its claws. This was also something that its master would be furious about. The master had insisted that it was a human, not the soul of a lycanthrope. This meant that it wasn’t allowed to use its fingernails or toenails as claws, which meant that the Death Knight was forced to rely solely on the body’s muscle memory for any fights.

Readying its claws was a direct disobedience of its master’s orders. However, the Death Knight couldn’t help it. After all, this opponent wasn’t green enough for the Death Knight to believe that it could defeat him by relying on unfamiliar methods.

A call came as the door opened, “Did I keep you waiting?”

Eugene had been expecting to be attacked the moment that the door opened. But the Death Knight didn’t do that. Insteads it crouched down, lowering its center of mass and pressing its heels into the ground as if it was ready to explode into movement at any moment. It glared at Eugene.

“How did you get through that door?” it questioned him.

Eugene shrugged, “I just tried to go in?”

“...What did you see… inside there?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Who the hell are you?”

Crunch!

The Death Knight’s feet dug into the ground. Eugene chuckled and placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

He taunted the Death Knight, “Who do you think I am?”

“Graaaaaagh!”

Having been persistently taunted like this, the Death Knight finally couldn’t take it anymore, so he roared and kicked off the ground. It wanted to kill Eugene and tear him into pieces, but it couldn’t afford to do that. Suppressing its murderous intent, the Death Knight swung its claws at Eugene.

Eugene lowered his stance. Just as the Death Knight’s claws drew close, he pulled out the Moonlight Sword.

1. Although the author used the word tang (슴베) the tang is the part of the sword that connects the guard, hilt, and pommel, so it never touches the scabbard. The ricasso is the unsharpened part of a blade, a few centimeters from the guard, which allows for a tight fit between the blade and the scabbard, among other functions. https://www.reliks.com/functional-swords/european-swords/ricasso/ ☜

2. Suggestion in terms of a hypnotic impulse. ☜